How do we fix next year? Where to spend money?

[Hawkfan_08]

Because I'm still fuming at how terrible today was I'm up thinking about lineups. The season now doesn't matter at all so I hope to see new players in and get meaningful reps. If they fail? Who cares! Let them try and see what they can/ can't do.

Qb- got to be Sullivan I guess. I don't think he's great and will unfortunately be coached to be worse than he is when he came here. I believe he might be better than Cade (like most) but he's got to get over 50% of the reps. We simply don't know how to develop qbs or have an eye for talent. I guess roll with Lainez and Resar as backups but give them a shot to actually start. I would let them each get a series or two in the last few games.

RB- fine even if KJ2 heads to the NFL. Jazz seems fine. Washington and Moulton will be fine.

TE- I'm not even sure... Ostrenga looks good but we aren't using our TEs like normal. Part of that is because the QB. I *think* we have enough there to be okay.

WR- money for an elite WR if one even wants to play here. If not figure out who we have right now. Vander Zee looks okay. I'm not sure what we have in any other wr other that Wetjen but we can't get him snaps. I think it's a NCAA rule that the most dynamic offensive guy on the team is only allowed to return kicks and punts. Let the young guys run more routes. Also, Budmayr continues to turn things into crap. The wrs are all under him.

OL- 1/3 of the SWARM football money goes here. We can't block. It's been better but for a group that has had as many reps as them... not good enough. Missed blocks, straight whiff, pass protection issues. Also, how does Barnett still have a job? He's done nothing to keep it.

DL- Allen and Graves but we need serious help. We don't have extra money to spend here so we have to hope we have more help buried on the depth chart.

LB- 1/3 of our money goes here. We have to replace almost 100% of the snaps at this position and if we mess this up then we are screwed. Let some reserves actually play for the guys we have. Not all the time but a little more than just flipping coverage here and there.

CB- whatever money we have left has to go to the corners. I have no idea how it got so bad but it's so, so bad. Harris has to get bored during games because they don't even pretend to look. Lee, Hall and Nestor are all liabilities within Parker's scheme.

S- Nwampka and Entringer. Need both to step up big time. No money for this and I'm sure X is already making a bunch.

P- set for 3 more years.

K- set for next year and beyond.

What do you all think? I'm trying to be reasonable...

 

[HawksRule73]

How to fix next year? Start by firing the HC and go from there…

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

Next season is going to be excruciating unless there is huge portal influx (the kind associated with a new coaching staff). KF will be leading a team with very little experience and MAC talent at every position except maybe RB.

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

How to fix next year? Start by firing the HC and go from there…

^This.

There hasn’t been a single player brought in from the transfer portal that has made a lick of difference in improving the offense. That tradition will continue so long as Kirk is running shit.

At some point, enough fans need to wake up and realize the problem isn’t Cade McNamara or Spencer Petras or whoever else is the latest victim of Kirk ball. The problem is Kirk Ferentz first and foremost.

The guy is a ****ing dinosaur and refuses to evolve. The 2000s are over. The rest of the college football world moved on and joined the 2020s. Kirk has somehow failed to take notice over the course of 15 years (and counting).

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

Next season is going to be excruciating unless there is huge portal influx (the kind associated with a new coaching staff). KF will be leading a team with very little experience and MAC talent at every position except maybe RB.

Who replaces KJ?

 

[GhostAppendage]

^This.

There hasn’t been a single player brought in from the transfer portal that has made a lick of difference in improving the offense. That tradition will continue so long as Kirk is running shit.

At some point, enough fans need to wake up and realize the problem isn’t Cade McNamara or Spencer Petras or whoever else is the latest victim of Kirk ball. The problem is Kirk Ferentz first and foremost.

The guy is a ****ing dinosaur and refuses to evolve. The 2000s are over. The rest of the college football world moved on and joined the 2020s. Kirk has somehow failed to take notice over the course of 15 years (and counting).

Accuracy and comp % say otherwise.

 

[ICHawk2440]

Bud has to go. Barnett should go but won’t.
Spend money there first. (Leaving ferentz talk out of it because he isn’t getting fired)
We only have like 14 commits, are we gonna just go all in on portal this year??? It kinda seems like they will take that approach. Get proven guys from small school with 2+ years left. Will be a pretty crazy offseason that’s for sure.

 

[WaterTower]

Because I'm still fuming at how terrible today was I'm up thinking about lineups. The season now doesn't matter at all so I hope to see new players in and get meaningful reps. If they fail? Who cares! Let them try and see what they can/ can't do.

Qb- got to be Sullivan I guess. I don't think he's great and will unfortunately be coached to be worse than he is when he came here. I believe he might be better than Cade (like most) but he's got to get over 50% of the reps. We simply don't know how to develop qbs or have an eye for talent. I guess roll with Lainez and Resar as backups but give them a shot to actually start. I would let them each get a series or two in the last few games.

RB- fine even if KJ2 heads to the NFL. Jazz seems fine. Washington and Moulton will be fine.

TE- I'm not even sure... Ostrenga looks good but we aren't using our TEs like normal. Part of that is because the QB. I *think* we have enough there to be okay.

WR- money for an elite WR if one even wants to play here. If not figure out who we have right now. Vander Zee looks okay. I'm not sure what we have in any other wr other that Wetjen but we can't get him snaps. I think it's a NCAA rule that the most dynamic offensive guy on the team is only allowed to return kicks and punts. Let the young guys run more routes. Also, Budmayr continues to turn things into crap. The wrs are all under him.

OL- 1/3 of the SWARM football money goes here. We can't block. It's been better but for a group that has had as many reps as them... not good enough. Missed blocks, straight whiff, pass protection issues. Also, how does Barnett still have a job? He's done nothing to keep it.

DL- Allen and Graves but we need serious help. We don't have extra money to spend here so we have to hope we have more help buried on the depth chart.

LB- 1/3 of our money goes here. We have to replace almost 100% of the snaps at this position and if we mess this up then we are screwed. Let some reserves actually play for the guys we have. Not all the time but a little more than just flipping coverage here and there.

CB- whatever money we have left has to go to the corners. I have no idea how it got so bad but it's so, so bad. Harris has to get bored during games because they don't even pretend to look. Lee, Hall and Nestor are all liabilities within Parker's scheme.

S- Nwampka and Entringer. Need both to step up big time. No money for this and I'm sure X is already making a bunch.

P- set for 3 more years.

K- set for next year and beyond.

What do you all think? I'm trying to be reasonable...

I've said it before that I think we are in the beginning of the end for Ferentz and Iowa FB. Much like Haydens last few years recruiting is going down hill quickly. Does anyone really believe that KFs age isn't being used against us on the recruiting trail? Sadly, we are stuck with Ferentz until he decides to leave ( Thanks Barta). He'll, we don't even have men's BB to look forward to any more (Thanks Barta).

 

[kceasthawk]

Because I'm still fuming at how terrible today was I'm up thinking about lineups. The season now doesn't matter at all so I hope to see new players in and get meaningful reps. If they fail? Who cares! Let them try and see what they can/ can't do.

Qb- got to be Sullivan I guess. I don't think he's great and will unfortunately be coached to be worse than he is when he came here. I believe he might be better than Cade (like most) but he's got to get over 50% of the reps. We simply don't know how to develop qbs or have an eye for talent. I guess roll with Lainez and Resar as backups but give them a shot to actually start. I would let them each get a series or two in the last few games.

RB- fine even if KJ2 heads to the NFL. Jazz seems fine. Washington and Moulton will be fine.

TE- I'm not even sure... Ostrenga looks good but we aren't using our TEs like normal. Part of that is because the QB. I *think* we have enough there to be okay.

WR- money for an elite WR if one even wants to play here. If not figure out who we have right now. Vander Zee looks okay. I'm not sure what we have in any other wr other that Wetjen but we can't get him snaps. I think it's a NCAA rule that the most dynamic offensive guy on the team is only allowed to return kicks and punts. Let the young guys run more routes. Also, Budmayr continues to turn things into crap. The wrs are all under him.

OL- 1/3 of the SWARM football money goes here. We can't block. It's been better but for a group that has had as many reps as them... not good enough. Missed blocks, straight whiff, pass protection issues. Also, how does Barnett still have a job? He's done nothing to keep it.

DL- Allen and Graves but we need serious help. We don't have extra money to spend here so we have to hope we have more help buried on the depth chart.

LB- 1/3 of our money goes here. We have to replace almost 100% of the snaps at this position and if we mess this up then we are screwed. Let some reserves actually play for the guys we have. Not all the time but a little more than just flipping coverage here and there.

CB- whatever money we have left has to go to the corners. I have no idea how it got so bad but it's so, so bad. Harris has to get bored during games because they don't even pretend to look. Lee, Hall and Nestor are all liabilities within Parker's scheme.

S- Nwampka and Entringer. Need both to step up big time. No money for this and I'm sure X is already making a bunch.

P- set for 3 more years.

K- set for next year and beyond.

What do you all think? I'm trying to be reasonable...

I doubt either Wetjen or Graves will be here next year. I believe Wetjen is in year 5 and Graves already graduated, (in 2 1/2 years as a true junior mind you). The money thing keeps entering the picture in these posts. What is your source that "Xman is "getting a bunch". People say this stuff but I don't see where they come up with this. He was recruited 4 years ago, before the swarm and had nothing to do with his recruitment I don't think. On top of that there just isn't that much $$ to go around where there are many players getting "a bunch" of anything.

 

[IChawkeye45]

You have to buy a quarterback. There is no other option.

 

[mlb1399]

Well whoever is behind all these marginal seniors either isn’t good enough to replace them or Kirk is too stubborn to play the best player. If it’s the former, there is no fixing it in one offseason. If it’s the latter, then maybe we have some hope but then you start wondering why the man is getting paid so much money and isn’t committed to doing everything it takes to win, which includes playing the best player.

Allen, Koen and RVZ could be very good players down the road but it’s hard to be optimistic about the guys who will be playing around them. And I don’t know that any of those guys will be dominant next year. I just hope RVZ didn’t grow up an ISU fan because he’d be better off transferring there than playing in this offense.

 

[MitchLL]

This is beginning to look EXACTLY like the end of the Fry era in terms of recruiting.
The one difference, I would argue, is asst coaches were leaving under Fry.
That hasn't happened yet here with KF.

You just know other programs are using KF's age against him.

 

[the24fan]

I've said it before that I think we are in the beginning of the end for Ferentz and Iowa FB. Much like Haydens last few years recruiting is going down hill quickly. Does anyone really believe that KFs age isn't being used against us on the recruiting trail? Sadly, we are stuck with Ferentz until he decides to leave ( Thanks Barta). He'll, we don't even have men's BB to look forward to any more (Thanks Barta).

Sadly this is all correct.
At this point fans need to seriously lower their expectations until this thing gets overhauled with a new staff.
It’s already started for me . After the loss I just wasn’t that upset. Apathy for this program is real

 

[Hawkfan_08]

I doubt either Wetjen or Graves will be here next year. I believe Wetjen is in year 5 and Graves already graduated, (in 2 1/2 years as a true junior mind you). The money thing keeps entering the picture in these posts. What is your source that "Xman is "getting a bunch". People say this stuff but I don't see where they come up with this. He was recruited 4 years ago, before the swarm and had nothing to do with his recruitment I don't think. On top of that there just isn't that much $$ to go around where there are many players getting "a bunch" of anything.

His ads that he does with Pancheros can't be cheap.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

As long as KF remains the head man, any changes are merely nibbling around the margins.
A revamp is in order and it starts there.
That will almost certainly mean PP is no longer at Iowa, but that's a trade-off that it's time to accept.
Something I think everyone needs to come to grips with is that the next hire is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to stick around for 20+ years. Iowa doesn't need to, and should definitely not, become nebby with their poor decisions about coaches over the past two decades. But we continue to see examples of programs being rebuilt quickly and having good years after previously being terrible. The unregulated free agency that exists allows for that. This is now a pro football business. Treat it like that and go full on Moneyball.

 

[Hawkfan_08]

How to fix next year? Start by firing the HC and go from there…

I agree but that won't happen.

 

[ButtersHawk]

I'll take a stab here....

Money/Rant- I'm not going to say use $ to get a QB only because I'm genuinely curious what a full on offense around Sullivan would look like. I made this point early in the year but when KF says "we are taking his (TL's) offense and running with it" he is completely full of shit. Look at past WMU highlights they are barely under center and there's a ton of RPO. Also Sullivan who was recruited by Lester in the past is recruited again by him to come here and after the ISU game Lester has only managed to talk KF into Sully being a RZ QB and that's it? Again KF is full of sh!t and TL is probably working at 60% the rate he wants right now.
Money will need to be spent everywhere else for starters and depth on this team though.

Recruiting- 18(BIG) + 16(SEC) +1(ND) =35
We should never be below 35th in recruiting. Taking into account schools like Purdue, Indiana, Vandy, NW we should always be near 25 or so. The skill positions on offense need to get better. It's at a point where instead of recruiting a WR we maybe should just poach some MAC talent last minute every cycle.
As far as instate we do well BUT I've had a bugaboo for awhile now in that ISU seems to do a decent job at filling out their roster instate with any kid with FCS offers and maybe low end FBS offers. We seem to only recruit the top 3/4 guys then after that unless you come from one of the NW Lyons schools your dream of being a Hawkeye is a no go.

 

[Stoopsbrother]

1. QB
2. Edge Rusher
3. O-line
4. CB/LB

Basically the whole ****ing team! This thing is a mess right now.

Maybe poach some of those UNI guys now that Farleys retiring

 

[ButtersHawk]

1. QB
2. Edge Rusher
3. O-line
4. CB/LB

Basically the whole ****ing team! This things are mess right now.

Maybe poach some of those UNI guys now that Farleys retirement announcement

Great idea. And UNI kid with a D1 offer we should take a look at

 

[pistachio1999]

How much money we got to spend Dad?

 

[pistachio1999]

Hand out apps at the Ped Mall. Has to be a starting QB wandering around there and he doesn't even know it.

 

[Randall Stanhope]

If someone could write a $20,000,000 check, we could buy a great team next year.

 

[Garbanzo Joe]

I don't think you try and fix it next year. Take next year and really figure out what lower level players you want to try and grab and begin the process of tailoring the schemes to fit who you get.

 

[joelbc1]

Hand out apps at the Ped Mall. Has to be a starting QB wandering around there and he doesn't even know it.

Reminds me of back in the day, Alex Karras was asked by an Iowa booster if he knew of any footballers he would recruit /guide to his Alma mater….Karras replied “”Some of the finest halfbacks in America are probably pitchin’ pennies on a street corner somewhere in Detroit….”

 

[ItsAllBallBearingsNowadays]

If someone could write a $20,000,000 check, we could buy a great team next year.

 

[TXHCHawk]

When I first saw the title, “How do we fix next year? Where to spend money?,” I thought, what money?​

 

[joelbc1]

Barring injury….there are NO guarantees.

 

[Niko13]

We spend the money on a buyout

 

[pink shizzle]

 

[Iron Doc]

All things considered, we should throw our great wealth at 5* Oline folks.

Secondarily, we should search the JUCO ranks for Olinemen, especially OTs.

Nonfunctioning offensive lines have been our downfall.

 

[eyesofhawk]

Because I'm still fuming at how terrible today was I'm up thinking about lineups. The season now doesn't matter at all so I hope to see new players in and get meaningful reps. If they fail? Who cares! Let them try and see what they can/ can't do.
Qb- got to be Sullivan I guess. I don't think he's great and will unfortunately be coached to be worse than he is when he came here. I believe he might be better than Cade (like most) but he's got to get over 50% of the reps. We simply don't know how to develop qbs or have an eye for talent. I guess roll with Lainez and Resar as backups but give them a shot to actually start. I would let them each get a series or two in the last few games.
RB- fine even if KJ2 heads to the NFL. Jazz seems fine. Washington and Moulton will be fine.
TE- I'm not even sure... Ostrenga looks good but we aren't using our TEs like normal. Part of that is because the QB. I *think* we have enough there to be okay.
WR- money for an elite WR if one even wants to play here. If not figure out who we have right now. Vander Zee looks okay. I'm not sure what we have in any other wr other that Wetjen but we can't get him snaps. I think it's a NCAA rule that the most dynamic offensive guy on the team is only allowed to return kicks and punts. Let the young guys run more routes. Also, Budmayr continues to turn things into crap. The wrs are all under him.
OL- 1/3 of the SWARM football money goes here. We can't block. It's been better but for a group that has had as many reps as them... not good enough. Missed blocks, straight whiff, pass protection issues. Also, how does Barnett still have a job? He's done nothing to keep it.
DL- Allen and Graves but we need serious help. We don't have extra money to spend here so we have to hope we have more help buried on the depth chart.
LB- 1/3 of our money goes here. We have to replace almost 100% of the snaps at this position and if we mess this up then we are screwed. Let some reserves actually play for the guys we have. Not all the time but a little more than just flipping coverage here and there.
CB- whatever money we have left has to go to the corners. I have no idea how it got so bad but it's so, so bad. Harris has to get bored during games because they don't even pretend to look. Lee, Hall and Nestor are all liabilities within Parker's scheme.
S- Nwampka and Entringer. Need both to step up big time. No money for this and I'm sure X is already making a bunch.
P- set for 3 more years.
K- set for next year and beyond.
What do you all think? I'm trying to be reasonable...

I'm guessing you've never played a sport

 

[Ladell-hawk]

As long as KF remains the head man, any changes are merely nibbling around the margins.
A revamp is in order and it starts there.
That will almost certainly mean PP is no longer at Iowa, but that's a trade-off that it's time to accept.
Something I think everyone needs to come to grips with is that the next hire is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to stick around for 20+ years. Iowa doesn't need to, and should definitely not, become nebby with their poor decisions about coaches over the past two decades. But we continue to see examples of programs being rebuilt quickly and having good years after previously being terrible. The unregulated free agency that exists allows for that. This is now a pro football business. Treat it like that and go full on Moneyball.

We have hit the jackpot twice with Hayden and Kirk. Odds are probably good the next coach won’t be as good as either of them. Hopefully we will find the right guy again.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

I'll take a stab here....

Money/Rant- I'm not going to say use $ to get a QB only because I'm genuinely curious what a full on offense around Sullivan would look like. I made this point early in the year but when KF says "we are taking his (TL's) offense and running with it" he is completely full of shit. Look at past WMU highlights they are barely under center and there's a ton of RPO. Also Sullivan who was recruited by Lester in the past is recruited again by him to come here and after the ISU game Lester has only managed to talk KF into Sully being a RZ QB and that's it? Again KF is full of sh!t and TL is probably working at 60% the rate he wants right now.
Money will need to be spent everywhere else for starters and depth on this team though.

Recruiting- 18(BIG) + 16(SEC) +1(ND) =35
We should never be below 35th in recruiting. Taking into account schools like Purdue, Indiana, Vandy, NW we should always be near 25 or so. The skill positions on offense need to get better. It's at a point where instead of recruiting a WR we maybe should just poach some MAC talent last minute every cycle.
As far as instate we do well BUT I've had a bugaboo for awhile now in that ISU seems to do a decent job at filling out their roster instate with any kid with FCS offers and maybe low end FBS offers. We seem to only recruit the top 3/4 guys then after that unless you come from one of the NW Lyons schools your dream of being a Hawkeye is a no go.

Hey man, get your check book out. Also your comments on Kirk and Lester are ridiculous. The offense has improved a lot this season. Did you really think it could get to top tier in one season. I think it will show further improvement with a few transfers to go with the returning players next year.